Brian's story

Brian requested advocacy support regarding his upcoming Mental Health Act Tribunal. He was detained under section 3 of the Mental Health Act and informed the advocate that his tribunal was due to take place in just over a month’s time. Brian was very clear that he wanted advocacy support in the lead up to his tribunal and also at the tribunal itself.

Brian said that he felt as though no one were listening to him regarding important aspects of his care, which included his disagreement with his diagnosis, his refusal to take anti-psychotic medication and an advanced directive he had written regarding this, the care he needed when he returned home, and the risk he posed to himself and others: all those things that would be taken into consideration at a tribunal.

The advocate discovered that in fact Brian discovered was much better at both speaking clearly and remembering to speak clearly in the afternoons and therefore tried to engage at a different time of day in the hope that this would help.

With the help of the advocate Brian wrote down all of the things that were important to him. His most important thing he wanted out of the process was to speak up and have his voice heard at the tribunal.

Brian and the advocate attended the tribunal. Brian seemed confident and referred to the documentation he had submitted to the tribunal panel. Despite not being discharged from the section by the tribunal, Brian was content and relaxed at the end of the tribunal and said that he understood why he had not been discharged.

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Laura is 35 years old and has been living with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia for the last ten years. Laura was assessed and detained in hospital under section 3 of the Mental Health Act. Laura requested help from an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) to help her advocate her views at her weekly ward round, as she felt that she was not being listened to by her psychiatrist.

Joanne is a 41 year old woman with a diagnosis of Huntingdon’s disease. She has two young teenage children who live in the local area with her ex-partner. Joanne was referred for Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) due to a change of accommodation decision, but was moved a day later before an advocate could get involved.

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Susy has a Learning Disability, and is a mother to a young son whom was on Child Protection register. Susy had mistrust of Local Authority professionals whom she felt were not listening and judging her, and her opinions were being dismissed. Susy felt entirely alone and contacted POhWER for advocacy support.
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NHS Complaints Advocacy can support anyone who is unhappy with the care or treatment they or someone they know has received from the NHS and is thinking about making a complaint. Read more about this service.

An IMHA is an independent advocate who is specially trained to work within the framework of the Mental Health Act to support people to understand their rights under the Act and participate in decisions about their care and treatment. Read more about this service.

An Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) can support someone who is not able to make certain decisions about their lives for themselves and has no suitable family or friends to speak for them. Read more about this service.

We provide services across nine county councils/local authorities of Central and East of England that help people who need to get their voices heard. Here you can find the latest information on what’s happening in your local area.
If you cannot find your local area listed below, this maybe because we currently do not provide service in the local area. However, you can call our advisers on 0300 456 2370 to find out who can help you.

We provide services across London that help people who need to get their voices heard. Here you can find the latest information on what’s happening in your local area.
If you cannot find your local area listed below, this maybe because we currently do not provide services in the local area. However, you can call our advisers on 0300 456 2370 to find out who can help you.

POhWER NHS Complaints Advocacy Self Help Information for NHS Complaints Process.
For those who wish to make a complaint about an NHS service they or one of their family or friends received we have a special NHS Complaints Advocacy Service self help pack.

We provide services across six boroughs of Southern England that help people who need to get their voices heard. Here you can find the latest information on what’s happening in your local area.
If you cannot find your local area listed below, this maybe because we currently do not provide service in the local area. However, you can call our advisers on 0300 456 2370 to find out who can help you.

We provide services across seven boroughs of West Midlands that help people who need to get their voices heard. Here you can find the latest information on what’s happening in your local area.
If you cannot find your local area listed below, this maybe because we currently do not provide service in the local area. However, you can call our advisers on 0300 456 2370 to find out who can help you.

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